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History comes tumbling down

HTR Media
Published 6:51 p.m. CT Dec. 30, 2014

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Keith Hanford, of Global Iron & Demolition Services of St. Louis, Mo., operates a large excavator to bring down the last section of the three-story factory of the former Mirro manufacturing plant in Manitowoc in March.(Photo: Sue Pischke/HTR Media file)Buy Photo

MANITOWOC – Two massive demolition projects of century-old manufacturing plants where thousands of Lakeshore area residents worked over the decades was the top story of 2014.

In Manitowoc, the downtown 900,000-square-foot former Mirro cookware and bakeware plant is coming down with the owner hoping to have the one block-square site cleared by the end of 2015.

Reclamation and sale of hemlock and maple floorboards, as well as thousands of bricks, is helping to finance the asbestos abatement and demolition, said St. Louis businessman Eric Spirtas, of the buildings bounded by 15th, 16th, Franklin and Washington streets built in sections from 1911-29.

If laid end to end, the wooden planks would equal roughly 2,600 miles, or more than the distance between Manitowoc and Los Angeles.

Manitowoc city officials gave permission to Spiritas to knock down the original three-story section on the northwest section. After the rubble is eventually cleared — and the state gave the OK for brick removal to a reclamation site in December — demolition on the remainder of the plant may go forward. Spirtas has said redevelopment may be possible of a six-story section.

Demolition at the ThermoFisher Scientific plant, flanking the East Twin River, in downtown Two Rivers is proceeding at a more accelerated pace than Mirro.

The former plant has gone by several names in its 130-year history and is known by many simply as “Hamilton’s.” Demolition on the 12.5-acre complex also is expected to be completed in 2015.

While there haven’t been production workers in the 1512 Washington St. Mirro plant for more than 20 years, ThermoFisher only closed the Two Rivers plant in 2012 with several hundred Lakeshore area workers losing their jobs.

With waterfront access and views, Two Rivers civic officials are hopeful of redevelopment that may include housing or lodging, office space and commercial activity.

As opposed to former Mirro plant owner Newell Rubbermaid, which sold the building in 2004 and has not contributed to demolition, ThermoFisher is paying for the destruction in Two Rivers.

Other noteworthy events and community developments in the Lakeshore area during 2014 included:

Heroin epidemic

Drug deaths from heroin and other substances escalated in 2014 with more than 20 individuals dying through November and several others under investigation.

Crime linked to heroin and other illegal substance addiction has increased while social service agencies report the percentage of babies born to addicted mothers in Manitowoc County has risen.

“It Doesn’t Start with Heroin” drew 300 people for an October program and several organizations have come together as the Manitowoc County Heroin Task Force.

A December meeting focused on starting root cause analysis to help guide development of intervention strategies linked to the five “pillars” including law enforcement, treatment, harm reduction, prevention and business-workplace efforts to lessen heroin’s toll.

Tricyclist struck

Steven Gove, 56, was returning to his Manitowoc home on his oversized tricycle in January after delivering newspapers when he was was hit by a car, flew through its windshield and became stuck while the drunken driver continued on.

His story made news beyond the Lakeshore area, eliciting donations including two new, three-wheeled bikes after the accident.

The driver was ordered to serve four months in jail with Gove recovering from bruises, abrasions and concussion symptoms.

School referendums fail

Three Manitowoc Public School District referendum questions were voted down by voters in November.

The Board of Education had hoped to annually boost their state-imposed budget cap by $2 million through passage of the three questions. The first one requested authorization from voters to exceed their revenue limit by $1 million to maintain current programs and services.

The second defeated referendum would have allocated $600,000 for maintenance and security needs at school district buildings. The third referendum would have earmarked $400,000 to update classroom technology and replacing aging computers.

All three questions were seeking “recurring” authorization, which meant the requested hikes in the revenue limit would have had no expiration date.

January cold snap

Several days with sub-zero temps and wind chill temperatures as low as 45 below zero was part of an unwelcome polar vortex descending on the Lakeshore area.

The bitter cold caused a temporary shortage in propane used for heating many rural homes and agricultural businesses including dairy farms where keeping milking equipment and workers adequately heated was a priority.

The cold caused fire sprinkler systems and other pipes to freeze and flood numerous buildings in the Lakeshore area. It also led to schools canceling classes for students’ safety sake.

Coach Dixon

Manitowoc Lincoln High School head football coach John Dixon died in November after a brief battle against advanced pancreatic cancer.

His quick demise shocked and saddened hundreds of former players and students of the man who had coached and taught physical education at Lincoln since 2001.

In addition to a grieving Lakeshore area, condolences to the Dixon family and respect for him was shown by his peers in the football coaching fraternity.

Bay Port head football coach Gary Westerman posthumously gave his conference and region coach of the year awards to the Dixons, including his wife, Mary Beth, Lincoln’s head volleyball coach and also a physical education teacher, and their four children.

Kiel school closure

Meeme LEADS Elementary school in Kiel will close at the end of the school year following a 5-2 vote by the Kiel Board of Education in mid-December.

Classes at the rural charter elementary school will be consolidated into Zielanis Elementary starting with the 2015-16 school year.

The school opened in the 1960s and housed 4K through fourth grade as recently as 2012, but in the last two years the school board consolidated grades three and four into Zielanis, leaving just four grades and 48 students at Meeme.

Meeme currently has class sizes of about 10, while Zielanis has average class sizes of 20 students. Under the planned consolidation, class sizes would be equalized.

Road rage driver sentenced

Shawn M. Lischka, 23, was sentenced in late November to four years in prison for the November 2013, “road rage” death of 19-year-old Eric J. Neuman.

Lischka, of Manitowoc, pursued Neuman’s vehicle from Manitowoc to Two Rivers at speeds that were reported up to 100 mph, deliberately hit Neuman’s vehicle and left the scene, according to law enforcement.

Lischka’s prison sentence, for a felony charge of hit and run resulting in death, began in November and will be followed by four years of extended supervision.

“I’d like to apologize ... I never meant to hurt anyone by my actions,” Lischka told Judge Jerome Fox and a crowded courtroom at the sentencing hearing. “That night I didn’t use good judgment. It’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life.

Animals rescued

In August, 17 dogs, six puppies, 18 cats and three kittens were removed from a residence in the town of Schleswig by authorities.

They visited the home and reported evidence of hoarding, animal neglect and poor living conditions with many of the dogs kept in indoor kennels.

Laura J. Roth, 57, and Keith K. Vonkampen, 55, have each been charged with two counts of being party to intentionally mistreating animals and two counts of being party to intentionally failing to provide food for animals. The case is ongoing with a pre-trial conference scheduled for March.

The Lakeshore Humane Society coordinated adoption of many of the animals, preceded by veterinary inspections and administering rabies shots and other vaccinations.

Local economy

For the first time in more than 10 years, the city of Manitowoc’s unemployment rate in October, 5.3 percent, was lower than the state, at 5.4 percent.

While one Manitowoc business in 2014 announced 150 future layoffs, another thrived and added 100 employees to its workforce.

In March, Manitowoc Company officials announced its Indigo line of ice machines would be made at a new plant in Monterrey, Mexico, and that the majority of some 235 International Association of Machinists Local 516 members would be losing their jobs by September 2015.

A company official said employees “are not to blame for global competitive factors that have caused us to develop this plan, nor, unfortunately, can our employees do anything to change competitive factors we as a company must address.”

Meanwhile, Jagemann Stamping this year expanded operation in their new 50,000-square-foot plant addition with the hiring of about 100 new employee for a total workforce of about 325.

Tom Jagemann, third generation owner, said it is “full-speed ahead” at the I-Tec Park plant producing everything from a million bullet casings weekly to electrical connectors to hook up banks of solar panels to automotive components.

One particular industry sector in the Lakeshore area experiencing a business demise but also a new birth was reflected in the March closure of the six-screen Strand Theatre in downtown Manitowoc while the 10-screen Carmike Cinema opened in June on the city of Manitowoc’s west side near Interstate 43.